The Great Thaw Part II
by lost-in-arendelle
Summary: Hans has escaped and is determined to seek revenge on the royal sisters and claim Arendelle for his own. But this time, he's attacking with some unexpected fire power. It's up to Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff to save each other and the kingdom they love. Part II/IV.


"I love him, too," Anna said, "you know I do. I just don't know if he should, you know," she shrugged and tipped her head back to look up at her much taller husband, "_live_ _here,_ in the castle with us."

She smiled sheepishly and Kristoff tried not to smile back, but he failed in five seconds flat. He always did. It was one of the things she loved most about him, how openly he wore his feelings, especially his feelings for her. She never needed to question if he loved her, it was written so plainly on his face every time he looked at her. After a lifetime of living with Elsa and never knowing why her sister ignored her, it was heavenly to look up and know exactly what Kristoff was feeling.

"But he's never lived apart from me," he said, "not since I found him. We've always shared everything."

Anna twined her arms around his neck. Although he looked troubled, his hands automatically wrapped around her waist.

"Kristoff," she said, patiently waiting until he turned his frowning face towards her, "did Sven look miserable when you went to visit him in the stables?"

"No." His frown deepened. If Anna didn't know better, she'd say her strong and rugged husband was pouting. "He looked fat and happy."

"And he was just fine while we were away, right?"

"They fed him like five hundred carrots a day," he muttered. "Of course he was fine."

Anna bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Are you sure you're not jealous?"

He arched an eyebrow.

"Of _carrots_?"

"No." She smoothed the hair off his forehead, holding back another smile. It still gave her a thrill that she could do this- touch him, tease him, hold him whenever she wanted. "Of his new friends in the stables. I think you're sorry that he's settling in so well." She rose up on her toes to peck him on the lips. "And not missing you more."

"That's not true." He made a face and glanced away. "I mean, not really."

Anna waited until his shoulders sagged and he looked down into her eyes.

"Maybe," he grumbled. "Just a little." As she pressed kisses to the corners of his mouth, his body slowly relaxed. "I'm glad that's he's happy," he said, stroking the back of her head. "I'm happy, too."

Anna pulled away so he wouldn't feel her heart pound against his chest.

"Are you?"

Life had felt so idyllic on their honeymoon - they'd explored magical places she'd only read about books, spent deliciously lazy afternoons in bed, dined in elegant restaurants and tiny cafes, laughed and talked and walked arm-in-arm and kissed behind trees and under bridges. Away from Arendelle and its pressures, they were simply Kristoff and Anna, young and hopeful and deeply in love.

But they were home now, starting a new life surrounded by reminders of the old, and Kristoff had seemed tense since they stepped through the castle gates. Anna felt not-so-secretly terrified that he'd hate living inside the castle, constantly aware of servants and titles and rules.

"Am- Am I enough?" she asked, pressing her face into his chest, "to make up for all of this?"

She felt him chuckle under her cheek.

"Don't all little girls grow up hoping to marry a prince?"

"Perhaps," Anna muttered, "but do boys want to marry princesses? And live in castles? And dance and wear cravats and bow to queens and-"

"Anna-"

"I wish we were back in Paris," she said quickly, "eating eclairs and sharing a bath."

"Mmm." His hands roamed down her back. "So do I." He kissed his way from her temple to a place behind her ear that made her shiver. "But this is nice, too."

"You don't have to say that if you don't-"

"_Anna_." He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes- eyes that were warm and unguarded and full of love. She suddenly felt very foolish. "I love you. I love the life we've started and everything that's coming next. I'll get used to living in a castle." He shrugged. "It's nothing compared to you. You are worth everything."

She leaned forward as he leaned down, and they shared a kiss more eloquent than words. When they broke apart, they stared at each other, still amazed at the intensity of their feelings. A simple kiss was like a spark on tinder.

"Let me show you our new bedroom," Anna said breathlessly.

Kristoff's hands clenched at her waist.

"Lead the way."

As she dragged him towards the largest bedroom, Anna heard footsteps and voices outside the main door to their private wing. She stopped, shoulders drooping, and sighed. The bedroom would have to wait.

"That's Elsa," she said, shooting Kristoff a frustrated glance over her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Open the door and see what she wants." He stepped close behind her and nibbled down the length of her neck. "Then we'll continue where we left off."

Anna took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. Though she was sure her hair was mussed and the blush hadn't left her cheeks, she opened the door at the first knock. As she'd expected, Elsa stood on the other side, but to Anna's surprise, she wasn't alone. Standing to her right, a lanky gentleman with wild, brown hair and silver spectacles swept into a bow.

"Hello, Anna," Elsa said. She winced and gestured to the man beside her. "This is Tor of the Southern Isles." She wrung her hands together. "May we speak to you and Kristoff… please?"

Anna's mouth fell open as Kristoff wrapped a possessive arm around her waist.

"Did- did you say _of the Southern Isles_?" She examined the man more closely as he rose to his full height. She noticed some resemblance to Hans in the shape of his eyes and his graceful movements, but she would never have suspected they were brothers.

"Different mothers," he supplied helpfully, as if he could read her thoughts. "And different in every way that matters."

Anna stumbled backwards, straight into Kristoff. His arms tightened around her. Elsa glanced anxiously between Anna and her unexpected guest.

"Tor has some important news to share with us," she said. Her obvious anxiety filled Anna with dread. "Perhaps we should all sit down?"

Elsa lead the way to the sitting room that Anna and Kristoff had yet to use. She sat alone in an armchair, her skirt fanning out like a protective moat in a half circle at her feet. As Anna and her husband settled close together on a settee, Tor dragged another armchair closer to Elsa's. Anna watched as he sat down, suddenly wondering if this man felt something for her sister.

_If _princes of the Southern Isles were capable of genuine feeling, which she seriously doubted. Tor and Elsa exchanged a long look before Elsa took a deep breath and raised her eyes to Anna and Kristoff.

"Hans has escaped," she said bluntly. "And he's determined to claim Arendelle."

Hans? _Escaped?_ The air left Anna's lungs in a whoosh. She suddenly felt as if she'd been kicked in the stomach.

"Then freeze him," Kristoff said, his voice making it quite obvious what he thought of Anna's ex-fiance. "But let me punch him first. I didn't get my chance last time."

"If only it was that simple," Elsa said. A snowball slowly grew between her wringing hands. "But he's not stupid."

Kristoff clenched his jaw.

"I'd argue with that," he muttered. "He hurt Anna."

"He's seeking powers of his own," Elsa said calmly. "And we must act under the assumption that he's found them." She blew the snowball across the room. They watched it melt before the fireplace. "If I can create ice, he can create fire." Her voice trembled for the first time as she gestured to the puddle on the floor. "And I think it's obvious which power wins."

"Hans can't win anything," Anna said, her anger growing. "He's vain and heartless and he's just one person."

"I agree." Tor nodded at her, but Anna looked away. If he wanted her trust, he'd have to earn it. "My brother rarely thinks through his actions."

"We need to evacuate the kingdom," Elsa said. "Immediately, just to be safe." She rose and started pacing back and forth across the sitting room. "We'll build flood walls around the fjord. I'll control my powers-"

"Your powers are critical," Tor protested.

"My powers are a weapon that could be used against us," Elsa shot back. "Everything I freeze, he could melt."

"I should have killed him when I had the chance," Kristoff muttered.

"For the sake of international diplomacy, I'm grateful that you didn't," Tor said, smirking as he drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair. "But I wouldn't stop you now."

Anna narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why are you helping us?"

"I have never been fond of my half-brother," Tor replied without hesitation. "He's rash, vain, and greedy, and what he did to you and your sister was deplorable." He shot a sidelong glance at Elsa. "And in the year since, I've exchanged some delightful letters with the queen."

"Delightful refusals," Elsa muttered.

"All the same," Tor's smile widened to devastating effect, "I'm rather fond of you."

To Anna's shock, Elsa didn't freeze him on the spot. She almost… smiled back. At a prince of the Southern Isles! Anna blinked, trying to absorb this shift in her universe, when Kristoff squeezed her hand.

"Anna won't have to see him," he said, "right?"

"Not unless she wants to," Elsa said. She lifted her chin. "I expected to face him alone."

Anna shook off Kristoff's hand.

"Absolutely not," she said, at the same time Tor leaned forward to protest. He nodded at Anna and closed his mouth. "I was foolish enough to accept his proposal, I should be there when he returns."

"Anna," Kristoff began, voice hoarse with worry. "You don't-"

"_Yes_," she said, gently pressing her hand against his cheek, "I do."

She hadn't thought about Hans in months, not since Elsa had reassured her that he was under lifelong house arrest a thousand miles away. She'd recovered from his betrayal, quickly realizing the difference between Hans's selfish desire to use her and Kristoff's honest, unconditional love. And once she realized that she returned that love, she'd never looked back. Hans was a foolish mistake, a lesson learned, but Kristoff held her heart.

"I don't want him to hurt you again," he said quietly, dragging her into his arms after Elsa and Tor left to gather the servants and evacuate the kingdom. Kristoff and Anna were supposed to join them, but Elsa had realized that they needed a moment alone first.

"He won't," she said. "He can't. Not unless he hurts you."

"You said it was true love," he muttered brokenly.

"But it wasn't." She dug her fists into his shirt. "And you knew it. You _know _it."

"I do know. And I'm still jealous." He buried his face in her hair. "I've never loved anyone but you. The fact that you fell for him first makes me want to-"

"It wasn't love," Anna repeated. She touched a finger to his lips to silence him, then dragged it slowly down his chin. "_You _are the only one I've ever loved, the only one I will ever love." She pressed a furious kiss to his lips. "So don't get yourself killed trying to avenge me. I don't need avenging." She kissed him again, softer this time. "I just need you."

He kissed her back, long and hard and heated- the kind of kiss that spoke of slaying dragons and crossing oceans and defying death for love. Anna took it as sign that he finally believed her as she sank onto her back on the settee, pulling him with her.

"We need to help your sister," Kristoff said, gasping as he reluctantly pushed himself off of her. "Arendelle is our kingdom, too."

Anna smiled.

"Spoken like a true prince." She grit her teeth. "A much truer prince than Hans."

Kristoff paused as he smoothed his clothes.

"What will we do if he burns down the castle?"

Anna swept her hair back.

"Fight back, of course." She twisted her bodice back into place and scowled. "I told him once that he's no match for Elsa. Fire powers or no, I still believe it."

They spent the afternoon evacuating the confused citizens of Arendelle, knocking on doors and coaxing them to seek shelter through a narrow pass in the mountains. Most protested, for it was a beautiful summer day with no sign of any threat. Many refused to leave their homes, and more still would venture only as far as the castle. Anna did not know what to say to persuade them, for she had no idea when Hans would appear, she only knew that he would. If he'd set his sights on Arendelle, he'd never give up.

"Please," she pleaded over and over again, "trust us. He's dangerous."

Some still remembered Prince Hans as the man who'd passed out cloaks and invited them to the castle for soup and shelter during Elsa's Winter. They remembered him as devastatingly handsome and generous, incapable of the evil Anna and Kristoff described, for not everyone had witnessed their showdown on the ice. And so they remained stubbornly inside their houses, watching from doorways and windows as Elsa and Tor gathered volunteers to erect makeshift flood walls.

As night fell, Anna's eyes were drawn to the sky over the fjord, to the mountains where an orange light blazed brighter than the moon. She pushed through the agitated crowd, towards the fjord, Kristoff close at her heels. She shielded her eyes and squinted, focusing on the strange light. It took her a few moments to realize what it was - not a star, not a comet, but a terrible, blazing fire.

She spun into Kristoff's arms.

"The trees on the North Mountain," she cried, her heart pounding out of her chest. "He's here! He's setting them on fire!"

She gestured towards the light. Kristoff followed her gaze, his face turning white as the snow on the mountaintops. Before she could ask what he'd seen, he snatched her up in his arms and started running.

"Stop," Anna shouted, "We need to warn Elsa!"

"He's burning the forest and melting her ice palace," Kristoff said. "Did you see it? It's creating a waterfall headed straight for the fjord." He hugged her tight against his chest as they frantically searched for Elsa and Tor. "Arendelle will be flooded within the hour, Anna." His hands shook against her skin. "We need to get to higher ground. _Now._"

"Not without my sister," she said, squirming out of his arms and running back towards the flood walls where she'd last seen Elsa. She heard Kristoff shout her name behind her, but she kept running. The crowd around her had begun to panic as more and more citizens noticed the blazing lights and realized what they were, and what they meant for Arendelle. People who'd refused to leave their homes that afternoon raced past her, screaming, heading for the mountains with arms laden with belongings.

Anna cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Elsa!" she shouted.

The waterfall was more obvious now - it tore down the mountains, sweeping away the trees and rocks in its path. The fjord raged beyond the fragile walls, the water churning as it climbed steadily higher. Soon, it would flood the streets.

"Elsa!"

Every time she shouted her sister's name, she heard her own echoed by Kristoff, but she didn't dare turn around. If she saw the fear on his face, she feared she'd stop moving.

Finally, she spied Elsa standing on the edge of longest pier in Arendelle, her dress and hair billowing out in the wind behind her like a mythical queen, her face set as she gazed up at the North Mountain where her beautiful ice palace once stood. The waves lapped at her feet, but she ignored them. Tor stood behind her, tensely watching from a respectful distance, as if he was guarding her. He spotted Anna first and waved.

Elsa lifted her head. Immediately, she flung her hand out and created an ice bridge from Anna's feet to the end of the pier. Anna ran across it without hesitation, straight into the arms of her sister. Elsa clung to her tight, as if she meant to shield Anna from the wind or save herself from being blown away.

"It was my haven," Elsa whispered, her voice choked with tears, and Anna knew she spoke of her ice palace. "And now he's using it as a weapon against me."

"He won't win," Anna said, glaring up at the blaze and the water careening down the black mountains that had lost their snowcaps. "He _won't._"

"Anna!"

An instant later, Kristoff leapt off the bridge and threw his arms around her. His whole body shook.

"I had to find Elsa," she said, turning from her sister's embrace to hug him back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I couldn't leave her behind."

"Just don't leave me," he said fiercely, clutching her tighter. "You're all I've got, all I want."

"And we've got to get to higher ground," Tor said quickly. He clutched Elsa's elbow as a wave smashed a section of the pier behind them.

"There's no time," Elsa shouted, pointing to the mountain as she shook loose from his hold. They watched in horror as the entire ice palace seemed to melt at once, rushing down the mountain straight towards Arendelle. From their place on the pier, Anna could hear the townspeople scream in terror.

"What are we going to do?" she shouted, clinging to Kristoff with all her might as cold water surged over her ankles, rising steadily to her knees.

As Kristoff swept Anna back into his arms, Elsa took a deep breath and threw her own arms out. The water from the North Mountain crashed into the fjord, sending waves as tall as a grown man straight towards her kingdom. Anna squeezed her eyes shut.

"If Hans wants my kingdom," Elsa shouted as the waves stopped, frozen in a giant, ferocious wall around Arendelle, "he'll have to come to me."

When Anna dared to open her eyes, her sister was smiling.

**The End of Part II**


End file.
